BBSRC Bee Science on BBC Horizon

Aug5

A debate about the future of pollinators that was organised by a BBSRC-funded PhD student featured on BBC2's 'Horizon' programme, alongside bee research and footage from the bioimaging facilities at BBSRC-funded Rothamsted Research.

Earlier this year Stuart Smith organised the "Pollinators and pesticides: is there a plan bee?" event as part of a three-month BBSRC Policy Internship with The British Library.

The sold-out discussion was chaired by BBC presenter and beekeeper Bill Turnbull and featured a panel of bee experts.

The BBC wanted to film the debate to illustrate the widespread public concern over the decline of bees and other important pollinators in the UK for the Horizon documentary.

Stuart, who is studying for a PhD in Biological Science at the University of Aberdeen, said: "The pinnacle of the placement was organising the TalkScience evening event. Even greater public outreach was gained with Bill hosting a BBC Horizon programme about demystifying the bees.

The British Library host an event on declining bees. Image: The British Library science team

"As a PhD student, I feel lucky to have experienced my fair share of media engagement with BBC Horizon. The request from BBC horizon to film the event was a surprise, but it created a great buzz leading up to the event and it felt great getting extra publicity for TalkScience and the British Library science team's outreach activities."

The internships allow BBSRC-funded PhD students with an interest in science policy to work with a highly influential science policy organisation.

As well as arranging the TalkScience event, Stuart attended workshops, conferences and events including British Science Association Science Communication conference, Cheltenham Science Festival and spent a day at the Houses of Parliament.

He wrote blog posts and articles and gained an insight into important policy areas such as Open Access.

He added: "The scheme has been a wonderful experience. The length of time for the placement is ideal to get experience of an organisation and not disrupt the PhD. Being on a placement in the last year of a PhD is a good time to be involved in a placement as it does not disrupt experiments etc, and it is at a stage when you are thinking of what to do next.

"I would encourage all BBSRC PhD students to be involved in this scheme."

BBSRC funded work and updated bioimaging facilities from Rothamsted Research also featured in the programme. Researchers from Rothamsted have fitted tiny radar transponders to individual bees to track their flight paths and investigate the effects that exposure to pesticides and infection by pathogens has on their ability to navigate.